In Paris, a user can pick an Autolib’ electric car from any of the hundreds of charging and parking stations, pay as per use, and leave it at a parking lot.

CORPORATE FLEET

Google's Gfleet of 50 EVs at its Mountain View headquarters, which also include a dazzling few Tesla Model Ss, and a network of 200 charging ports, is perhaps the world's largest corporate EV infrastructure. Any Googler wanting to take an EV for a spin or run errands simply logs on to a booking system, which displays car availability and time slots. The Gfleet is part of a larger sustainable transportation initiative of the company, which covers employee shuttle services run on bio-diesel. The vibrant ecosystem is akin to taking 2,000 cars off the road every day. Net annual carbon savings is around 5,400 tonnes, or the equivalent of avoiding 14 million vehicle miles every year.

CAR SHARE SYSTEMS

Kandi Technologies, a Chinese start-up, in association with Geely, the Chinese car company that acquired Volvo, is creating a network of giant automated vending machines stacked with electric cars. The machines, of the height of multi-storeyed buildings, enable citizens of Hangzhou to rent a car for about $3.5 per hour (Rs 220). Each building can hold 30 to 300 cars.

Along with a mobility solution, it also deals with the challenge of inadequate parking spaces. All users do is press a few buttons and out comes a car. Once they are done driving it around, they can drop it off at one of the many garages. The car has a range of 75 miles and a top speed of 50 miles per hour. The company is planning 500 garages and 100,000 cars.

Autolib' is a full-service, electric car-sharing service. A public-private partnership, launched in December 2011, it has changed the mobility dynamics for Parisians (See pictures). Any subscriber to Autolib' can pick up one of the 2,500 Blue cars from any of the hundreds of charging and parking stations across the city, pay per use, and leave it at any parking lot. It costs 9 (Rs 750) per 30 minutes for a day user and 5.5 (about Rs 460) per 30 minutes for an annual plan.

ELECTRIC TAXIS

Spanish Black: The mayor of Barcelona and Nissan signed an MoU to roll out electric taxis by mid-2014 and also cooperate in the creation of a fast-charging infrastructure for the city. The vehicle, eNV200, is based on the existing Nissan NV200 van and is expected to use the drive train of the company's popular electric car, the Nissan Leaf. Barcelona is the first city in the world to integrate electric cars into an existing taxi fleet and also embark on a robust partnership with a car company. Nissan will deploy its fast battery chargers—0 to 80% in under 30 minutes.

London White: The ubiquitous black London taxi is turning a new colour: white. The new Metrocab, 10 years in the making, powered by two 67 bhp electric motors and a one-litre petrol range extender, goes to trials this month. The new cab, developed by Frazer-Nash and Ecotive, and unveiled just before last Christmas by the city's mercurial Mayor Boris Johnson, is three times more efficient than the current fleet of taxis on the road. It is expected to save cabbies over £30-40 per day.

CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE

Fastned, a Dutch start-up, and ABB are in the process of setting up a nationwide network of 200 electric vehicle fast-charging stations in Netherlands, bringing a charging station within 50 km of all the country's inhabitants. The stations will have solar canopies and claim a charging time of just about 15-30 minutes. The project is expected to be complete by 2015.

US energy utility NRG Energy Inc, a Fortune 300 company, is investing $150 million to create what it claims is the first privately-funded EV charging ecosystem. It offers EV owners home- and office-charging solutions, and also a network of fast-charging stations, located at retailers, for a monthly fee.